The 2007 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Joe Paterno and played its home games in Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.
Preseason Shortly after the end of the 2006 season, junior linebacker and 2006 Bednarik Award finalist Dan Connor announced he would remain at Penn State for his senior year.
Redshirt junior offensive lineman Elijah Robinson was forced to give up football after being diagnosed with a tight spinal canal, a condition that could lead to paralysis if Robinson ever sustained a head impact that pinches the spinal cord. Redshirt junior safety Spencer Ridenhour chose to transfer from Penn State, after being unable to win a starting position with returning safety Anthony Scirrotto and converted cornerback Tony Davis ahead of him on the depth charts.
Seniors Dan Connor, Terrell Golden, and Anthony Morelli were elected tri-captains by their teammates prior to the season.
Penn State was ranked #17 in the AP and #18 in the Coaches college football preseason polls.
Recruiting class The Nittany Lions received 21 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 7, 2007.
Spring practice
The public got their first look at the 2007 squad during the annual Blue-White Game at Beaver Stadium on April 21, a 70-degree sun-splashed day. A record crowd of 71,000 turned out for the scrimmage, the third highest in the nation for a spring football game, and surpassing the previous record of 62,000 set in 1996.
Thousands of fans in the huge crowd wore maroon and orange shirts, in tribute to the victims of the previous week's events at Virginia Tech, including a section of 800 fans that formed a large "VT" block.
The White team defeated the Blue team 30–6, led by junior quarterback Paul Cianciolo who ran for one touchdown and passed for two more, finishing 8-of-9 for 126 yards passing, and sophomore receiver Chris Bell who led all receivers with 116 yards receiving and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Daryll Clark.
Criminal charges On April 27, 2007, State College police announced that six members of the squad were charged with a range of criminal charges related to an altercation that occurred in an apartment in downtown State College earlier that month. The charges include burglary, criminal trespass, simple assault, and harassment, and players charged include junior safety Anthony Scirrotto, who led the Big Ten in 2006 with six interceptions and was named 2006 first-team All-Big Ten, and junior cornerback Justin King, named second-team All-Big Ten in 2006. Charges against King were withdrawn before the preliminary hearing on May 4, 2007. After the hearing, charges against Jerome Hayes, Tyrell Sales and Lydell Sargeant were dismissed, citing weak evidence. However, Scirrotto and Chris Baker still face a possible trial in county court.
Coach Paterno announced that, because of the incident, the entire football team will clean Beaver Stadium on Sundays after home games, a task usually handled by members of Penn State's club sports teams. The team began serving this punishment following their 59–0 victory over Florida International. The players arrived at the stadium just prior to 8:00 a.m. and cleaned eight sections of the stadium. They were joined by members of various sports clubs and teams. The football team and other organizations worked together to clean the entire stadium.
Penn State's Office of Judicial Affairs expelled Scirrotto, Baker, Sargeant and Hayes for the second summer semester, but all four players were allowed to return to campus on August 6 for preseason workouts. Sargeant and his family requested formal Judicial Affairs hearings to appeal the decision.
Charges of burglary, simple assault and criminal solicitation against Scirrotto were subsequently dismissed by Centre County Presiding Judge, Charles C. Brown, Jr., but a felony charge of criminal trespass and a summary offense of harassment are still pending. Trials for Scirrotto and Baker are scheduled for December.
Preseason awards
Jeremy Boone Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award Deon Butler Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Gerald Cadogan Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award Dan Connor First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-American First-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team Sporting News pre-season All-American First-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team CBS Sports pre-season All-American College Football News pre-season Defensive Player of the Year First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Devin Fentress Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars Award Kevin Kelly Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Justin King Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Sean Lee Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten Anthony Morelli Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Rich Ohrnberger Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Andrew Quarless Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Anthony Scirrotto First-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten A.J. Wallace Third-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Derrick Williams Second-team Athlon Sports pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team Sporting News pre-season All-Big Ten Second-team College Football News pre-season All-American First-team College Football News pre-season All-Big Ten
Schedule
Personnel Roster
Coaching staff
Joe Paterno – Head Coach Dick Anderson – Offensive Line (Guards and Centers) Tom Bradley – Defensive Coordinator and Cornerbacks Galen Hall – Offensive Coordinator and Running Backs Larry Johnson, Sr. – Defensive Line Bill Kenney – Offensive Tackles and Tight Ends Mike McQueary – Wide Receivers and Recruiting Coordinator Brian Norwood – Safeties Jay Paterno – Quarterbacks Ron Vanderlinden – Linebackers John Thomas – Strength and Conditioning
Coaching changes Safeties coach Brian Norwood left the staff at the conclusion of the regular season to accept the defensive coordinator position at Baylor. Former Coordinator of Player Personnel Kermit Buggs was named his replacement and assumed coaching duties prior to the Nittany Lions' postseason appearance in the Alamo Bowl.
Game summaries
September 1: Florida International
The Nittany Lions shut out the Golden Panthers in their first-ever meeting. Quarterback Anthony Morelli was 23 of 38 for 295 yards, with touchdown passes to Terrell Golden, Mickey Shuler, Jr., and Matt Hahn. The running backs scored five touchdowns, including two by Austin Scott.
Led by linebackers Dan Connor and Sean Lee, the defensive unit forced five turnovers and held FIU to −3 yards rushing.
Lee was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
September 8: Notre Dame
In front of a crowd of 110,078 spectators, the second-largest ever at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions overpowered an inexperienced Fighting Irish team in a 31–10 win. Derrick Williams returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown to start Penn State's scoring, after the Irish took a 7–0 lead on an interception return for a touchdown. Austin Scott rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Anthony Morelli finished 12 of 21 for 131 yards, including a 51-yard strike to Chris Bell and a 10-yard touchdown to Jordan Norwood.
Led by Dan Connor, the defense sacked the Irish's highly touted freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen six times for −50 yards. The defensive unit held the Irish to zero rushing yards and just 144 yards total. The Irish committed 14 penalties for 97 yards, partly due to the loud, mostly white-clad crowd.
Recording 12 tackles, Connor was selected Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week as well as Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week. Derrick Williams' punt return for a touchdown was selected the week's Pontiac Game Changing Performance in a landslide vote.
September 15: Buffalo
Backup tailback Rodney Kinlaw had his first 100-yard game, tallying a career-high 129 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown after replacing starter Austin Scott, who fumbled on each of Penn State's first two drives. Scott's first fumble at the Penn State 8-yard line allowed the Bulls to take the lead, 3–0.
After a slow start, quarterback Anthony Morelli finished 20 of 27 for 202 yards and a career-high four touchdowns, including two to tight end Andrew Quarless, who was playing in his first game this season after being suspended for an underage drinking citation. Jordan Norwood's acrobatic 5-yard touchdown catch was highlighted as the Top Play for September 15, 2007 on ESPN's SportsCenter.
On defense, Dan Connor and Sean Lee each recorded 12 tackles. Safety Anthony Scirrotto also recorded an interception and recovered a fumble forced by Tony Davis.
September 22: @ Michigan
The Wolverines defeated the Nittany Lions 14–9, their first loss of the season. Michigan's Mike Hart carried the ball a record 44 times for 153 yards, helping the Wolverines control the clock and executed 26 more plays than Penn State.
The Nittany Lions defense permitted only three drives above 40 yards, forced two turnovers and limited Hart to 3.5 yards per carry, but the Wolverines were 10 of 18 on third down conversions. Sean Lee finished with 12 tackles, and cornerback Lydell Sargeant made a career-high 10 tackles including a tackle for loss and an interception.
Anthony Morelli was 15 of 31 for 169 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, but lost a fumble early in the game on the Penn State 10-yard line. Michigan needed only two plays to convert the turnover into a touchdown.
September 29: @ Illinois
The Nittany Lions fell 27–20 to the Fighting Illini in a turnover-filled game, Illinois's first win over a ranked opponent since 2001. The Illini would take a 7–3 lead on a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the first given up by Penn State since 1994.
Quarterback Anthony Morelli was 21 of 38 for a career-high 298 yards but was intercepted three times inside the Illinois 30-yard line. Morelli also had a crucial fumble on a fourth down scramble after appearing to have gained enough yards for the first down. The offense started five drives in Illinois territory but could only score three points on those drives.
The defense struggled early to defend the Illini's option running game, giving up 216 yards rushing. Linebacker Sean Lee recorded a career-high 17 tackles. Justin King and Tony Davis each intercepted the ball once, the second of the season for both players.
October 6: Iowa
Quarterback Anthony Morelli overcame first-half boos from the Beaver Stadium crowd to finish 18 of 31 for 233 yards and a touchdown in a 27–7 win over the Hawkeyes. Rodney Kinlaw, playing in place of suspended tailback Austin Scott, ran for a career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman Evan Royster had 86 yards on 16 carries before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury.
Placekicker Kevin Kelly connected on 2 of 3 field goals, including a personal-best 53-yarder. Deon Butler led Nittany Lions receivers with 3 catches for 55 yards. Maurice Evans and Aaron Maybin each sacked Iowa's Jake Christensen twice, and the Hawkeyes were held scoreless until Trey Stross caught an 11-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter.
October 13: Wisconsin
Penn State capitalized on early turnovers by the Badgers, including a P.J. Hill fumble on the first play from scrimmage, to take control of the game early.